about: JUVENTINO (MANUEL) MATEO LEON
I was born in Zurich. My parents were Spanish emigrants. I grew up with both mentalities. On the one hand the Swiss mentality in school on the other hand the Spanisch one at home. My dream as a kid was to become a soccer pro, but one day photography came into my life and still is a part of it. Today I mainly work in the advertisement, people, beauty and fashion section.
Where are you located?
Zurich, Switzerland
A great photographer is…..
Someone with own visions and the urge to improve oneself constantly.
What drove you to become a photographer?
Talent, endurance and above all a lot of luck.
Tell us about your unique photography style and the creative process behind it?
My photographic style is based on my personal perception. I rarely realize an idea right away. I rather try to make a step aside, trying to view it from this perspective.
I do experiment a lot. This means bearing the risk of failure but if you get up the risk to do it, it is often highly recompensed. I always support the conversation with the creative people in my team. And sometimes the solution is found in everyday’s small things which have nothing to do with the job.
If you were not a photographer, what would be the alternative career path you choose?
Maybe a music editor or something about fine food.
How do you promote yourself?
Through free work that my fabulous agent Natalija Bajric http://www.visualeyes-international.com sends to various clients. But the most important part remains the photography itself And not to lean back after the first success arrives or to copy yourself.
What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
Personally I think the internet is a fantastic invention. It spares a lot of time working and organizing whether on business or private. On a global point of view it gives the possibility to almost everybody to teach up-to-date. To consider that not a long time ago schools in countries of the Third World for example depended on donations and transport to get books. Today a teacher can download the latest school material via internet from everywhere around the globe. He can copy it to teach his students. That I call enormous progress. For visual communication it is similar I think. You become reachable to everybody. Simply through blogs people are getting interested in your work who surely wouldn’t have seen you otherwise, without the internet.
Could you share any insight for people just entering the profession?
Getting up early, drinking a cup of coffee, checking my emails and then one hour of sports. Followed by calls to my agency, clients, model agencies, stylists etc…, meetings or getting ready for a shoot.
Who is the person that you look up to in the photography world? Why so?
Richard Avedon. In terms of photography he was always ahead of time. He defined a certain style.
What music are you listening lately?
Old classical jazz like Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Shirley Horn and many more. I always listen to that kind of music when I cook, because cooking and jazz is the perfect symbiosis. Contemporary music: I listen all kinds of styles, from A “Alexonfire”, B “Bent” to Z “Züriwest”. There is so much great music beyond all the mainstream. at the moment I especially like “Papillon” from “The Editors”.
Name 3 your favorite books.
My absolutely favourite writer by far is HARUKI MURAKAMI. I’ve read all his books and he is still inspiring me a lot.
The Windbird Chronicle
South Of The Border/West Of The Sun
Norwegian Wood
What do you like the smell of?
The smell in the air after a summer rain, fresh bread, coffee in the morning
If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
http://www.juventinomateo.ch
—–
[.]
